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Judge reverses field, orders Goodell deposition

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — A Texas judge has reversed an earlier ruling and says NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell can be questioned by attorneys for ticket-holders who sued after they were displaced when seats weren’t properly installed for the 2011 Super Bowl at Cowboys Stadium.

The ruling issued Wednesday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Renee Toliver in Dallas says depositions of Goodell must be at NFL headquarters in New York no later than Aug. 5.

In February, Toliver granted an NFL motion to quash the deposition of Goodell, saying plaintiffs’ attorneys hadn’t met the threshold requiring a chief executive to testify.

Toliver wrote in the latest order that Goodell could be questioned on a limited range of topics.

About 1,250 temporary seats at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington were deemed unsafe just hours before the game.